J J Connington

No Past is Dead J J Connington

It was not altogether surprising that Ambrose Brenthurst was found brutally murdered outside Fountain Court the night he had presided over the dinner meeting of the "Hernshaw Thirteen Club." And many were the potential murderers-some of them guests at the dinner. Diana Teramond, the beautiful Creole actress, lived at Fountain Court, and was the owner of the pet cheetah which was found gnawing on Brenthurst's body. In debt to Brenthurst, she had asked him to her home that evening. Percy Fairfoot, in love with Diana, lied about his activities on that night. Cora Fairfoot, Percy's mother, admitted that she was hiding nearby at the time of the murder in fear of the cheetah, but there was blood on her hands. The gardener said that he heard voices and shots-but he was obviously withholding information. A second murder-that of the gardener's daughter-precipitates the crime in which Sir Clinton Driffield penetrates a maze of conflicting evidence to spot the murderer. Again, Mr. Connington's quick-witted sleuth arrives at his solution with only the use of the evidence that is fairly presented to the reader. No Past is Dead was published in 1942.